The official endorsement of a candidate for office by a political party
What is a nomination
100
Technically known as independent expenditure-only committees, these may raise unlimited sums of money from corporations, unions, associations and individuals, then spend unlimited sums to overtly advocate for or against political candidates
What is a Super PAC
100
a contribution to a political party that is not accounted as going to a particular candidate, thus avoiding various legal limitations
What is soft money
100
a list of the values and actions which are supported by a political party or individual candidate, in order to appeal to the general public, for the ultimate purpose of garnering the general public's support and votes about complicated topics or issues
What is a party platform
100
Historical periods in which a majority of voters cling to the party in power, which tends to win a majority of the elections
What is a party era
200
The master game plan candidates lay out to guide their electoral campaign.
What is campaign strategy
200
In the United States, this is a type of organization that pools campaign contributions from members and donates those funds to campaign for or against candidates, ballot initiatives, or legislation
What is a Political Action Committee (PAC)
200
Created primarily to influence the selection, nomination, election, appointment or defeat of candidates to federal, state or local public office. A type of U.S. tax-exempt organization organized under Section 527 of the U.S. Internal Revenue Code.
What is 527 groups
200
The battle of the parties for control of public offices. Ups and downs of the two major parties are one of the most important elements in American politics.
What is party competition
200
a term from political science and political history describing a dramatic change in the political system
What is a critical election
300
Meets every four years to nominate the party's presidential and vice president candidates and to write the party's platform
What is a national party convention
300
an unelected delegate who is free to support any candidate for the presidential nomination at the party's national convention
What are superdelegates
300
Money from the $3 federal income tax check-off goes into this fund, which is then distributed to qualified candidates to subsidize their presidential campaigns.
What is the Presidential Election Campaign Fund
300
an organised group of people with at least roughly similar political aims and opinions, that seeks to influence public policy by getting its candidates elected to public office
What is a political party
300
When the balance of power between a country's political parties changes greatly. Their electoral coalitions (the groups of people who vote for them) change dramatically. Sometimes, this happens when political parties die out or are created.
What is party realignment
400
a meeting of the members of a legislative body who are members of a particular political party, to select candidates or decide policy
What is a caucus
400
A high-tech method of raising money for a political cause or candidate. It involves sending information and requests for money to people whose names appear on lists of those who have supported similar views or candidates in the past.
What is direct mail
400
The primary United States federal law regulating political campaign spending and fundraising. The law originally focused on increase disclosure of contributions for federal campaigns
What is the Federal Election Campaign Act
400
a structure within a society that connects the people to the government or centralized authority.these include: elections, political parties, interest groups, and the media
What is a linkage institution
400
was the alignment of interest groups and voting blocs in the United States that supported the New Deal and voted for Democratic presidential candidates from 1932 until the late 1960s
What is the New Deal coalition
500
Elections in which voters in a state vote for a candidate (or delegates pledged to him or her).
What is presidential primaries
500
The phenomenon that people often may more attention to thing they already agree with and interpret them according to their own predispositions.
What is selective perception
500
An independent agency created in 1975 by the U.S. Congress to regulate election campaign finance in the United States
What is the Federal Election Commission (FEC)
500
a view favored by some political scientists about how parties should work. Parties should offer clear choices to the voters, who can then use those choices as cues to their own preferences of candidates.
What is a responsible party model
500
was a commission created in response to the tumultuous 1968 Democratic National Convention